Entertainment Music Bruce Springsteen's Life and Career in Photos From his New Jersey beginnings to now, here's a look at Bruce Springsteen's big moments in celebration of his 74th birthday By Alexandra Schonfeld Alexandra Schonfeld Alexandra Schonfeld is a features writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since April 2022. Her work previously appeared in Newsweek. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 23, 2023 07:00AM EDT Close Bruce Springsteen. Photo: Ross Marino/Getty Three cheers for The Boss! Over the course of Bruce Springsteen's decades-long career, he has toured the world, won countless awards and even secured not one — but two — Broadway residencies. The 20-time Grammy award winner, who turns 74 on Sept. 23, 2023, told Howard Stern in 2022 that he has no plans of stepping away from his life as a performer. "I can't imagine [retiring], you know?" he said. "I mean, if I got to a place where I was incapacitated or something but up until then I think I'm … I mean, look at Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger." "I look at those guys and go, 'Yeah, I don't know if I'll [always] be doing three-hour shows, but I have so many different kinds of music that I can play and do,' " he continued. "The Broadway show I can do for the rest of my life in one form or another if I wanted to. I can't imagine retirement, no." So, in honor of all he's accomplished — and all he's yet to do — here's a look back at Springsteen's life and career in photos. 01 of 18 Bruce Springsteen's Early Years Bruce Springsteen. Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo Bruce Springsteen was born on Sept. 23, 1949 and grew up in Freehold, New Jersey. He had his first guitar at the age of 7, per The Atlantic's look at his 2016 autobiography Born to Run, and was first introduced to rock and roll through Elvis Presley and The Beatles performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in the '50s and '60s. As a teenager, Springsteen was a member of a band called The Castiles, after a guitarist from his area knocked on the door upon hearing that the would-be rockstar could "play guitar," he noted in his biography, per the Asbury Park Press. 02 of 18 Bruce Springsteen Follows the Music Bruce Springsteen. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty In 1972, Springsteen auditioned for Clive Davis at Columbia Records."I listened, blown away by his imagery and poetry. He's gone on with [Bob] Dylan and Patti [Smith] to be our poet laureates," Davis told PEOPLE of the session. 03 of 18 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Bruce Springsteen with Steven Van Zandt and Max Weinberg. Michael Putland/Getty While Springsteen has played with numerous bands over the course of his decades-long career, American Songwriter notes, the E Street Band certainly takes the cake when it comes to his most well-known accompaniment. The band, which first formed in 1972, didn't take on the now-legendary name until 1974, the outlet explained. Many of the musicians he plays with to this day have been with him for decades, including Steven Van Zandt and Max Weinberg, who are pictured here with Springsteen in 1975. 04 of 18 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Hit the Road Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen, Nils Lofgren, Garry Tallent and Patti Scialfa. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty After putting out two records in the early 1970s, Springsteen's Born To Run really put him on the map. He and the band showed no signs of slowing down and continued to release record after record — and in 1984, Born in the U.S.A. dropped. That year, the band hit the road on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour (pictured here on their stop in Philadelphia). 05 of 18 Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemmons. Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Clarence Clemons, known as The Big Man, was a part of the E Street Band for more than four decades until he died in 2011 from a stroke. Following his death, Clemons' nephew, Jake Clemons, has stepped into his uncle's shoes as the band's saxophonist. 06 of 18 Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa. Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Springsteen and Patti Scialfa's relationship began as a friendship after meeting at a bar in the early '80s. In 1984, Scialfa became a member of the E Street Band and joined Springsteen on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour as a backup singer. Their relationship did not turn romantic until later in the decade when Springsteen and his first wife, Julianne Phillips, split up. The rocker wed Scialfa in 1991 at their home in Beverly Hills and they now share three grown children together. 07 of 18 Bruce Springsteen Performs in East Berlin Bruce Springsteen performs in East Berlin in 1988. Mehner/ullstein bild via Getty The year before the Berlin Wall fell, Springsteen performed a four-hour-long set in East Berlin to a crowd of 300,000, Erik Kirschbaum, author of Rocking the Wall, told the BBC. Per the author, Springsteen went against directions and gave a speech to the crowd in German saying, “I am not for or against a government. I’ve come to play rock and roll for you, in the hope that one day all barriers will be torn down.” 08 of 18 Bruce Springsteen Takes the Stage with George Harrison and Mick Jagger George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger. Sonia Moskowitz/IMAGES/Getty More than a decade before his own induction, Springsteen took the stage with fellow legends George Harrison and Mick Jagger during the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in New York City. 09 of 18 Bruce Springsteen Is Inducted Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Bruce Springsteen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty In 1999, The Boss was honored with his own induction into the Hall of Fame and was of course joined at the ceremony by members of his E Street Band (the band received their own induction together in 2014). 10 of 18 Bruce Springsteen at the Oscars Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen. Steve Starr/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty I Over the course of his career, Springsteen has been honored with countless awards, including an Oscar, which he won in 1994 for his song "Streets of Philadelphia" featured in the film Philadelphia. He was presented the award by Whitney Houston (pictured here). 11 of 18 Bruce Springsteen at the Grammys Bruce Springsteen with his Grammy awards. Steve Granitz/WireImage Springsteen won his first Grammy in 1985 and since then has won a total of 20 golden gramophones. 12 of 18 Bruce Springsteen's Friendship with Barack Obama Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama. Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images Springsteen and then-senator Barack Obama became pals on the campaign trail in 2008. After performing at Obama's inaugural celebration in 2009, the two have maintained a friendship and in 2021 launched an eight-part podcast series titled Renegades, in which they discussed topics like racism, fatherhood and even their unlikely friendship. 13 of 18 Bruce Springsteen Celebrates Obama's Inauguration Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen perform at Barack Obama's Inaugural celebration in 2009. Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Ahead of Obama's inauguration in 2009, Springsteen took the stage with fellow storytelling performer Pete Seeger. Years later, when Obama's vice-president, Joe Biden, took office, Springsteen performed as part of TV special called Celebrating America in honor of the newly elected president and Vice President Kamala Harris. 14 of 18 Bruce Springsteen and His Family Evan Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen, Jessica Springsteen and Sam Springsteen. Steven Ferdman/Patrick McMullan via Getty Springsteen and Scialfa have three children together: Evan James, born in 1990, Jessica Rae, born in 1991, and Samuel Ryan, born in 1994. In 2022, the couple became grandparents when Sam welcomed his first child. 15 of 18 Bruce Springsteen Receives a Kennedy Center Honor Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama during a reception for Kennedy Center Honorees in 2009. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty In 2009, Springsteen was a Kennedy Honors recipient alongside Robert De Niro (pictured here), Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck and Grace Bumbry. 16 of 18 Bruce Springsteen Is Awarded the National Medal of Arts Bruce Springsteen and President Joe Biden. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images And to keep the high honors coming, in 2021, Springsteen was one of the 22 people awarded the National Medal of Art by President Joe Biden. 17 of 18 Bruce Springsteen on Broadway Bruce Springsteen on Broadway. Taylor Hill/Getty In 2021, Springsteen on Broadway was the first performance on the Great White Way after Broadway went dark due to COVID-19. The residency, which ran from June to September 2021, was his second time bringing his act to Broadway after a run from 2017 to 2018. 18 of 18 Bruce Springsteen Keeps Rocking Jake Clemons, Bruce Springsteen and Max Weinberg. Manny Carabel/Getty In May 2022, Springsteen and the band announced they were hitting the road for their first tour in six years. The tour kicked off in February 2023 and continued through the summer, though in early September it was announced that the rest of the month's gigs would be postponed as Springsteen was "being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease." Despite the setback, the rocker, who turns 74 on Sept. 23, 2023, told Howard Stern in 2022 that he has no plans of stepping back from his life as a performer. "I can't imagine [retiring], you know?" he said. "I mean, if I got to a place where I was incapacitated or something but up until then I think I'm … I mean, look at Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger." "I look at those guys and go, 'Yeah, I don't know if I'll [always] be doing three-hour shows, but I have so many different kinds of music that I can play and do,' " he added. "The Broadway show I can do for the rest of my life in one form or another if I wanted to. I can't imagine retirement, no."